Hand Technique/Length –Superb skills with his hands. Understands value of separation and is quick to lock out his hands and establish control of the block. Shows good shedding techniques and has a vast array of moves to drop hands off his frame. Very fluid in transitions and implementation.

Competitive Toughness –Motor is unbelievable and plays with relentless intensity. Can have his momentum used against him in zone concepts but balance and redirection ability typically provide ample resistance to peel back into the play. Anchors effectively and possesses well built lower half.

Two Gap Ability –Extension skills and anchor allow for firm ability to dictate the point of attack and ability to hold his ground. Extension and hand usage do allow for two-way disengages to challenge the ball carrier based on his cut and shows good patience to wait out the block at the LOS.

Gap Penetration Skills –First step quickness allows for wedging down into gaps when aligned in gaps. Shows good lateral mobility on L-steps and slants to crash across the face of a blocker and then gain his forward push into the LOS to ensure he’s getting reset into the backfield.

Tackling –Explosive closing burst and finishing range. Has the ability to get himself tangled into the feet of QBs climbing the pocket and shows finishing skills when pulling off of blockers late. Range and explosion as an athlete shine in this capacity as he hunts the football at the LOS.

Flexibility –Shows wonderful mobility throughout his entire frame. Can create disassociation between the hips and shoulders to play with pace but reduced surface area. Tilts through his corners with strong lean. Anchors with strong hip drop and low pad level.

Pass Rush Counters –Have seen him pop double swim moves against double teams. Who does that?! Hands never relent and shows excellent pop, sudden hands and emphatic finishes to strip hands off his frame or create separation at the first strike window.

First Step Quickness –Tremendous. Explosive burst out of his stance and seems to build even more momentum and pace through steps two and three. Will play under control, though, isn’t leaping out of his stance or jumping the snap to be manipulated by hard count. High end physical ability.

Feet/Change Of Direction –Nimble footed and natural ability to collect himself from all angles. Will stop suddenly and redirect to mirror cuts or carry his pace to get back into the back pocket of a RB in pursuit. Shows admirable balance to hump back across an OL riding him out of the pocket without losing footing.

Versatility –Has the quickness, mobility and separation skills to be moved around a defensive line at the leisure of his coaches. Wouldn’t recommend slotting him as a 1T or putting alignment in the A-gaps with any consistency and will shine best in penetration role. Three down defender.

BEST TRAIT – Gap Penetration

WORST TRAIT – Two Gap Ability

BEST FILM – LSU (2018)

WORST FILM – Oklahoma (2018)

RED FLAGS – None

Quinnen Williams is an easy projection to a 3T role in the NFL. Williams has superb quickness, extension skills, pass rush counters and football intelligence. There’s little in the way of limitations for Williams between the sidelines. Williams has All-Pro potential and can be a perennial Pro Bowler if he plays to his potential. Williams should start immediately in the NFL and be the face of a young team’s defensive unit for years to come.

Run Defense – Has superior strength to hold up at the point of attack and re-set the line of scrimmage. Dominates blockers one-on-one and holds his own against double teams which he faced frequently at Alabama. Diagnoses play concepts exceptionally well, plays through blocks and finds the football at a high level. Owns the line of scrimmage.

Pass Rush – Offers a supreme blend of power, explosion, flexibility and technique to attack gaps, defeat blocks and apply consistent heat on the quarterback. High variance in how he wins. Knows how to attack blocks and reads sets with sharp vision. Can string together moves with excellent timing and control. Puts tremendous stress on interior offensive lineman to not only anchor but move laterally to stay square. Can be a game-wrecker.

Effort – Plays with urgency and a lot of energy. Enthusiastic player with an unrelenting motor. Battles and looks to impose his will on opponents on every rep. Will occasionally pull up in pursuit to preserve energy but it’s a minor gripe.

Hand Technique – Intentional about winning with first contact and controlling blocks with his hands. Easily disengages and dumps blockers in pursuit of the football. Has an endless variety of moves to shuck blocks. Rarely ever gets hung up on contact and knows how to split double teams.

Flexibility – Loose and fluid throughout his frame. Has no issues working around corners and beating blocks around the outside hip. Smooth, quick and easy change of direction skills. Works laterally with ease. Exceptionally gifted.

Play Strength – Features a stout anchor and isn’t moved out of gaps. Reliable to maintain run fits but also brings the dynamic ability to unhinge from blocks and finish. Powerful anchoring against double teams. Physical finisher. Blockers have to work overtime and are even then unsuccessful at maintaining the depth of the pocket.

Play Speed – Pairs his dominant play strength with explosive burst. Fires out of his stance with naturally quick get off and works into the neutral zone. Has exceptional range. Often too quick for interior blockers to square up and he easily gets to their edges.

Lateral Movement – Naturally and with ease flows down the line of scrimmage defending zone/stretch runs. Sifts through contact and finds his way through and around blocks. There are not limitation in terms of mobility.

Versatility – Would thrive in any front but his skill set is maximized as a penetration-style three technique in an even front. Has been dominant when tasked with two-gapping duties in college. Offers game-changing playmaking ability as both a pass rusher and run defender. Scheme transcendent and highly versatile.

BEST TRAIT – Everything

WORST TRAIT – Experience

RED FLAGS – None

Quinnen Williams features the same toolbox of traits that we’ve seen in other recent Alabama defensive lineman but taken to another level across the board. He dominates with a rare blend of quickness, power, flexibility, processing skills and technique that make him primed for a sensational career as a standout playmaker. While his skill set is optimally suited to serve as a three-technique in a 4-3 alignment, Williams can lineup anywhere on the interior or even occasionally at 5-technique, making him a versatile defender. Williams has the upside to become one of the NFL’s best defensive linemen and cornerstone of a franchise. He is worthy of a high selection in any draft.

Get-off/Burst – Extremely explosive off the ball and almost immediately gains ground into the opposing backfield. Quickness makes him extremely difficulty to win first contact against. Difficult for guards to square because of how fast he attacks their edge. Carries initial burst off the ball into his third and fourth steps as a rusher. Slips through gaps quickly to play behind the line of scrimmage more than any defensive lineman in the country.

Leverage – Some built-in leverage at 6-foot-2, 6-foot-3, shorter than a lot of offensive lineman. Still plays a little high at times and could benefit from a more consistent pad level, especially when he’s tired. Hands are so powerful that when he lands them, his leverage matters a lot less than it will for other defensive linemen. Majority of the time, fires off the ball low and leveraged.

Hand Usage – Ridiculously destructive with his hands usage. Hip tosses, clubs, swims, push-pulls, bull rushes, rips and hump moves are all common on his tape. Devastating power and extremely sudden hands to create movement at the immediate point of contact. Leaves offensive linemen in the dust with one decisive move. Strings combinations together effortlessly as a rusher. Consistently re-sets the line of scrimmage and is almost never controlled by his opponent.

Rush Plan/Counters – Will see some rush plans die out due to high pad level when he misses with his hands early. Has to work to counters more readily, probably the only weakness in his game really worth mentioning. Would benefit a ton from a spin move back inside when a lineman tries to carry him up the arc. Initial rush plan is consistently elite, comes off the ball looking to get up the field and on his opponent’s edge as a pass rusher, and has the tools to do both consistently. Rare at college level.

Mental Processing/Block Recognition – Needs to do a better job of identifying zone steps off the snap and knowing when he’s about to be reached. When he recognizes that, extremely difficult to reach him. Will often try to backdoor zone schemes which is a lot harder in the NFL. Terrific at IDing vertical blocks and owning the point of attack. Unbelievable anchor to ward off down blocks and even eat up doubles teams. Splits doubles extremely well, doing a good job of getting his shoulders turned so there is no surface area to hit. Good discipline to play a penetrating style but not get so deep he’ll allow himself to be trapped either.

Range – Excellent range for the position, has made a lot of plays far outside his jurisdiction due to effort and impressive long speed. Consistently playing in space behind the line of scrimmage allows him to showcase his movement skills really well. Does not have the change-of-direction of an Ed Oliver, but still well above-average fluidity in space.

Bend/Flexibility – Consistently runs the arc around the outside shoulder of the offensive guard, turning a tight path to the quarterback. Ability to finish from a wide angle is impressive.

Tackling – Probably could have had 3-4 sacks in the first round of the playoffs if he broke down in space a little better against Kyler Murray. Has to do a better job of throttling down and not being so aggressive when attacking the quarterback’s landmark. When he hits you square, you’ll feel it. Great strength to rip runners down outside his frame.

Competitive Toughness – High-effort, high-intensity player with a strong motor. Oklahoma game was the first one I saw all season where he was legit sucking wind in the second half. Sooners pace makes that understandable. Physical competitor on a consistent basis during the season, no plays off.

Athleticism/Size – May not have elite length or testing numbers, but checks the boxes in all areas of size and athleticism, especially when watching him on tape.

BEST TRAIT – Hand Usage

WORST TRAIT – Counter Moves

RED FLAGS – None

One of the easiest evaluations you’ll ever see, Quinnen Williams was the most dominant defensive player in all of college football last season, despite being just a redshirt sophomore and a one-year starter. His power, quickness, rush plan and hand usage are all elite, but the scary part is that he still has some room to improve in his counters and in his mental processing. He can play anywhere on the interior defensive line and should be a multi-All Pro player in the NFL.